Study: T-Mobile business customers most satisfied

Westlake Village, CA, May 4, 2005 -- (MobileVillage) -- Among wireless voice and data service business customers, T-Mobile ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power and Associates' 2005 Business Wireless Satisfaction Study released today.

The study measures the satisfaction of businesses with their wireless voice and data services across eight key factors (in order of importance): call quality (18%); sales representatives/account executives (14%); customer service (14%); billing (12%); offerings and promotions (11%); performance and reliability (11%); company image (11%); and cost of service (9%).

T-Mobile performs well across all factors, including: sales representatives / account executives; billing; offerings and promotions; cost of service; and customer service. Verizon Wireless closely follows T-Mobile in the rankings and performs particularly well in the call quality, performance/reliability and company image factors. Other providers included in the study are Cingular, Sprint PCS and Nextel.

"In the business community, cost-related issues such as initial equipment purchases and upgrades, service plan offerings, promotional packages, system integration and even billing options are important elements that impact the daily decision-making process," says Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services for J.D. Power and Associates. "T-Mobile appears to be meeting these needs in a cost-effective manner."

The study finds that wireless priorities vary, depending on the size of the business. The role of offerings and promotions has greater importance for midsize and large businesses with more than 100 employees, whereas the factor for performance and reliability has greater weight for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees.

"As a group, small businesses are more vulnerable to connection disruptions, such as dropped calls on initial connections and timely voice mail notifications, which may cost them business revenue," says Parsons. "Because of this, smaller businesses place more emphasis on the perception of the provider's service reliability. Clearly, larger businesses are at an advantage when it comes to receiving better discounts toward equipment purchases and service plan options based on the size of the company, so this segment rates their providers significantly higher in offerings and promotions and cost of service than their smaller counterparts."

The study finds the following key business wireless usage patterns:

The average monthly cost for wireless voice service is $4,116. The average monthly cost for wireless data services is $2,859.

Almost 90 percent of businesses surveyed subscribe to a voice-calling plan. This compares to 54 percent of businesses that subscribe to a data plan, which includes the ability to e-mail, text message and Web browse. Other service-related plans include push-to-talk (36%), international roaming access (17%), wireless modem access via a PC (15%) and packet services using a PC card (5%).

More than 70 percent of businesses contacted their wireless service provider's customer service department within the past year. Of these contacts, 64 percent reported having their problem or inquiry resolved on the first contact.

The 2005 Business Wireless Satisfaction Study is based on responses from wireless service business customers at more than 1,500 U.S. businesses in small and midsize-to-large segments. Interviews were conducted during February 2005.

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